Loreena McKennitt
Troubadours On The Rhine

THE REVIEW

From the tour that saw Loreena engaged in the early months of 2012, an album was born. It's just an album, considering that the cover seems like a piece of cardboard folded onto itself and in somewhat unsettling colors at that (I believe it's an ink drawing), but certainly with a very low environmental impact.

The live in studio doesn't offer us anything new, it must be said right away, but it's a good collection of traditional songs. In fact, "Down By The Sally Gardens," "Bonny Portmore," "The Bonny Swans," and "The Parting Glass" are tracks with countless interpretations, but not all as valid as McKennitt's, let's be clear. For me, it was almost traumatic to discover the version of "The Lady Of Shalott" (from Lord Tennyson's poem) exactly seven minutes long, having already struggled to get used to the ten-minute version instead of the two-minute one. Still in the vein of famous writers and poets, we have the remarkable arrangement of "Stolen Child" (W.B. Yeats). "The Wind That Shakes The Barley" reminds us that not much time has passed since her last album, but "Between The Shadows" and "Penelope's Song" seriously challenge my memory regarding chronological placement, especially after all the live performances and compilations.

In short, it could be a summary of Loreena's career, albeit a very condensed one, but if we're talking about the beauty of the live performance, well, it can't compare to "Nights from Alhambra" with that fantastic DVD featuring the footage. Here, I can say that although Loreena's voice is always fantastic, mystical and evocative, only a fan like me could have purchased this album...